Dealership in Edmonton

This letter is in no way intended with malice or to hurt the reputation of this business. I wish to communicate an experience I went through with a dealership in Edmonton. It is a fairly long read. I will not be posting any photos of this vehicle as I no longer own it. This letter outlines facts, timelines and is true to what I experienced to the furthest of my knowledge. I purchased a 2013 Nissan Altima from West End Nissan located at 10152 179 St Edmonton, AB T5S 1S1 for the full amount of $14,175 (draft) on November 28, 2018. I did not finance this vehicle I paid every penny of it with guaranteed funds. I was given the inspection after requesting it, before I signed the bill of sale. The inspection highlighted certain points as non-compliant. The Sales Manager—whom I don’t recall his name—let me know they did have an up to date inspection detailing these points were in fact compliant. I requested it and he said he didn’t have it with him but he showed me the work they had done on his computer. I asked for a printout and he said he couldn’t give it to me because it reflected his prices. After numerous times of requesting it, it was finally emailed to me on November 29, 2018 by Ankit Samyal—the Sales Representative who sold me the vehicle. The mechanical fitness assessments had all points listed as compliant. The email stated I sign the report and send it back for his records but I did not sign anything.
During the first week of driving I noticed:
• Windshield wiper fluid was not spraying fluid
• Brake was hard as a brick-the car wouldn’t push start-I depressed my foot on the brake and pressed push start button but the car would not start-finally after numerous attempts the car started. I reversed to pull out of my parking stall-put the car into drive. The car began to drive and I tried to brake but my brake wouldn’t depress-luckily I was in my condominium complex rolling at 2 km/hr. The brake warning came on.
• Brakes were squeaky and made lots of noise-braking from all types of speeds.
I spoke to Rian Hanson, Assistant Service Manager at the dealership and I dropped off my car January 5, 2018. I picked it up and he said the car was fixed—the brake booster vacuum was replaced and brake pads were cleaned. I was given a loaner vehicle.
Windshield wiper fluid issue was addressed and fixed—I haven’t had any issues until present date. Brakes were just as noisy and squeaking – the issue was not fixed.
The same issue started occurring again with the brake pedal; hard as a brick and it took me numerous attempts to start the vehicle with push start. It would take me anywhere from 5-15 minutes to start my car. New Year ’s Day January 1, 2018 the brake wouldn’t depress and brake warning light came on. I finally was able to push start the vehicle-reversed-and put it into drive. This happened to me at the Chateau Lacombe Hotel parkade where my brake wouldn’t depress and luckily I was able to brake before hitting the cement wall. Luckily I was far enough from the wall and the car was rolling at 2 km an hour.
I called Dave Goodwin, Service Manager at the dealership and his receptionist told me he wasn’t available and she would pass on the message. He never called me back at all. This call was placed on January 16, 2018 – I went into the dealership afterwards and Dave rejected my complaint and request – he told me he wasn’t going to replace brakes. There was no budging with him—his answer was a solid NO. I then spoke to Brian Dawson, General Manager the very same day and he took notes and told me he would get back to me. I was given a loaner vehicle and Brian ended up replacing my brakes. I haven’t had any issues with noise until present date.
After driving my vehicle after this date I had continuous problems with the brake pedal not depressing in order to push-start. I phoned Rian and I dropped the vehicle off on January 25, 2018. He told me he needed to replace the brake booster and that it was a special order from Japan. He told me it would take a week, worst case scenario three weeks. I dropped off my keys and was given a loaner vehicle. I phoned on February 14, 2018 and the receptionist told me Rian was not in and that she would pass on the message. I didn’t hear from anyone until February 27, 2018 when I phoned and spoke to Rian. He said and I quote “Patricia—I was just going to call you.” No one called me for five weeks. Rian told me the vehicle would be ready and I requested a complimentary oil change. He agreed to this. I picked up my vehicle on February 28, 2018 and returned the loaner. The same evening I went to run an errand and when I had the same issue-I depressed on the brake and it was completely stuck-as hard as a brick. After 10 minutes of numerous tries I finally was able to push the brake down and start the vehicle.
I emailed Rian that same evening and I called him the following morning March 1, 2018. I communicated my frustrations to him once again. I told him I was going to stop by after work to chat with him and discuss my options. He said, and I quote “same time as yesterday?” and I said yes, I am off at 4:30 pm and I will be there 4:50 pm the latest. When I arrived at the dealership receptionist told me Rian had gone home for the day. He clearly told me we would chat and he was not there. I asked to speak to Brian Dawson and he was not in the office either. The receptionist did not communicate to me any sort of paperwork Rian had left with her, nothing had been set up. At this point and Ankit, my salesperson, seen me and helped me. He arranged to speak with the other girls at Service and they were able to arrange a rental for me. It is not clear to me whether this was arranged by Rian or not, it would have been, but Cambi did not state any of this—all she said was, and I quote “Rian went home for the day.” I was given a rental once again and went home.
I went to the dealership the next day, March 2, 218, I took a personal day from work to deal with this in person. Rian was in the dealership and I spoke to him. He said he would take another look. I told him I was giving him another chance to fix the issue. I asked him how long do you need—I need a time frame. He said two weeks max. Rian told me, and I quote “I will touch base with you every Friday to update you.” We left it at that.
Friday March 9, 2018 I didn’t get a call all day. One week had passed, and no updates. I phoned and Cambi told me Rian came down with strep throat. I left a voicemail for Brian Dawson that very same day. I called back on Monday March 12, 2018 and arranged a meeting with Brian Dawson for Tuesday March 13, 2018.
During my meeting with Brian I requested my money back and provided him a copy of this letter. He was reluctant and said he wasn’t going to do that. After about an hour of back and forth conversation he told me he was going to look into this. I told him I want to cut my ties with West End Nissan as it is evident nothing is being resolved, especially in a timely manner Their mechanics were unable to fix my car after almost five months. I told him I am at my wits end and I no longer want to pursue a relationship with this dealership. It was also affecting my productivity at work. I had to answer their calls or call during business hours to chat with them. I was reprimanded at work a couple of times because of this. He also told me after asking for my money back; and I quote “Well, what about all of the kilometers you have put on our rental vehicles.” I told him each day your staff does not get back to me and each day you have my vehicle it means I will be driving that rental. If anything the cost of this is in no way my fault and I should not have to pay for this or receive less money back from my original purchase price. Brian stated he would need a day to think about this and said he would reach out to me March 14, 2018. I asked him “will you be able to follow up with me no later than March 15, 2018?” And he said yes he would.
March 15, 2018 – Rian phoned letting me know his mechanic was still taking a look at the vehicle and stated his mechanic was using it as his daily driver to and from work to monitor the car (he stated he lived fairly close). I told him I do not want him to be driving it around in case anything happened to it—the vehicle was under my insurance. He told me he was thinking of fixing the entire brake system or a brake switch. I was tied up at work so I did not have too much time to go through the entire details. Rian said he would call me back the next day March 16, 2018. At this point I was still waiting for Brian Dawson to call me back. This letter was also sent to the parties via email of whom I was directly in contact with at the dealership. I went to the dealership to chat with Rian in regards to what he had mentioned to me over the phone when I was busy at work. He again confirmed he was going to be replacing the brake switch. I also dropped off my keys for my 2005 Altima that had been sitting in their lot due to it breaking down after they had fixed it. I authorized him to work on it a second time around and he agreed it would fall within the $500 mark. (the 2005 Nissan Altima will be discussed in a separate email).
Brian finally emailed me on Friday March 16, 2018 morning (see email) and offered a settlement of $11,000. I told him I needed until Wednesday March 21, 2018 to think about my decision.
March 16, 2018 I phoned Rian and he said the vehicle needs a brake switch and the date of would be Monday March 26, 2018, the latest Tuesday March 27, 2018. He said this should take care of the problem.
March 19, 2018 – Rian phoned me at 3:19 pm letting me know they had installed the brake switch. I did not answer his call on purpose because I am in the midst of settling this amicably with Brian and I did not wish to deal with the vehicle further. He stated he wanted to keep the car over night to fire it up in the morning and test it.

March 20, 2018 – Rian phoned me at 12:56 pm and left a voicemail letting me know the vehicle had the brake switch replaced and had been firing up each and every time. He did not mention whether or not the brake pedal was depressing as it should (with ease). All he mentioned was that it started each and every time. Again, I purposely did not answer his call. Rian also stated my 2005 Nissan Altima was just about ready – he had quoted me at the $500 mark and let me know they detected the drive belt was missing parts which would cost approximately $200. He stated he would cover this part due to the situation I have been facing and said he would leave the cost of repairs at the $520 mark.
March 21, 2018 – I sent an email to Brian Dawson with my proposal.
March 21, 2018 – I phoned Rian at 3:26 pm and he let me know the 2013 Nissan Altima had responded well to the new brake switch being replaced. He said he had driven it around as well as his mechanic and told me the brake has been depressing good. Keep in mind the vehicle was still under my name and my insurance. He also mentioned my 2005 Nissan Altima was ready for pick up and had responded well to the repairs. (I will include a complaint regarding this vehicle in a separate email).
A series of emails were exchanged back and forth between myself and Brian Dawson from March 12, 2018 – April 5, 2018 as I wanted to have everything documented in writing.
April 6, 2018 – Brian and I settled at $11,250. I picked up my cheque and signed the bill of sale.
April 23, 2018 – The 2013 Nissan Altima I sold back to the dealership is now advertised on West End Nissan’s website for $14,900. I lost $2,925.
April 6, 2018 – I took an Uber to my brother’s house 12103 171 St and asked him to lend me his vehicle for a week. I returned his vehicle back on April 15, 2018.
April 15, 2018 – I rented a vehicle from Budget Rentals until present and am paying $208/week. I am currently shopping for a vehicle as I have no daily driver.